What does it cost to write a Will? This is the most frequently asked question in my law office. As an estate planner who writes Wills, I want to answer the question for anyone who calls, but my problem is this: when that question is asked before I know anything about the caller, it is a little like trying to answer how much dinner will cost at a restaurant without knowing what will be ordered.

Many restaurant guides rate restaurants by "$", "$$", or "$$$". This is a guide to help you know if the food cost is thrifty, moderate or expensive. You use the guide to know whether you want to go to the restaurant. You decide what to order after you are there.

There may be a similar way to find an attorney to help write your Will. It is perfectly all right to ask an attorney for a range of charges for preparing a Will. I will send you that information on request. However, no attorney can reasonably tell you the cost of your Will until he or she knows what you will "order."

What a Will costs is related to what it says and does. A Will always disposes of property you own at your death, but it also determines who takes care of winding up your financial affairs and may establish a short or long term plan for managing property for your beneficiaries. A Will may also determine whether your beneficiaries will have to pay death taxes. If you have one or two groups of beneficiaries, perhaps a spouse and children, a Will may be simpler than if you have a large number of beneficiaries.

But that is not necessarily true. Even a simple family situation may require fairly complex tax planning or property management provisions for young or disabled children. Even if you have adult beneficiaries who are perfectly able to manage an inheritance, your Will may include provisions to protect property from claims by the beneficiary's creditors or spouse, in case of divorce.

Depending on what a Will says about how your financial affairs are to be handled and by whom, the probate court either will or will not be involved in all aspects of handling your assets after your death. Your Will has to include specific language to request that the Court not be involved. This is called "independent" administration and your executor will be an "independent" executor, if your Will has the proper language to request that the Court not be involved in settling your affairs.

Depending on what a Will says about how it is to be signed and by whom, witnesses either will or will not have to testify in Court in order to have your Will validated after your death. Your Will has to include specific language and must be properly signed and witnessed in front of a Notary Public to insure that witnesses will not have to go to Court. This is called a "self-proved" Will.

So, let me know what your "order" is and I will try to let you know what your Will may cost.